[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-607988-105":59,"doc-detail-607988-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","history-1503-discovery-settlement","History - 1503 - Discovery - Settlement","","A historical overview of Ascension Island, tracing its early discovery by Portuguese explorers in 1501 and 1503, followed by British occupation in October 1815 to guard against Napoleon’s escape. It outlines the growth of Georgetown, evolving administration through the Royal Marines, the Admiralty, and later civilian authorities, and describes the island’s current strategic role. The account covers early food and water challenges, reliance on turtle harvesting, the establishment of a mountain farm, and the island’s wartime use across WWI, WWII, and the Falklands War, plus heritage and conservation offices.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/history-1503-discovery-settlement/607988/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/history-1503-discovery-settlement/607988.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"noah","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-17",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"When was Ascension Island first discovered and by whom?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Portuguese explorers discovered it in 1501 and again in 1503 while sailing from Lisbon to India.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How did British settlement begin in 1815?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"In October 1815 the British established a Royal Navy garrison to prevent Napoleon’s escape from St Helena, which led to construction in the Georgetown area soon after occupation.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What were the early challenges with food and water on the island?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Fresh water was initially scarce from springs and drips, requiring barrel transport until a plan to use iron pipes was developed. With limited meat supplies, turtles were harvested for food until the mountain farm was established to provide meat, milk, and vegetables.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},607988,1792209653,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":81,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":8,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":81},1099529839121,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","History  \nOF ASCENSION ISLAND  \n1503  \nIsland (re-)discovered by Alphonse D’Albuquerque and named Ascension  \n1501  \nAscension Island discovered by Portuguese sailor Joao da Nova and named Conception  \n1815  \nWater found at Dampier’s Drip, Breakneck Valley and Middleton’s Ridge  \n1816  \nFirst stone buildings erected in Georgetown; landing steps (now the Pierhead) and Turtle Ponds constructed  \n1815  \nBritish Navy established garrison in the name of King George III, to prevent the escape of Napoleon from the island of St Helena  \n1823  \nControl of the Island passes to the Royal Marines  \n1828  \nCaptain William Bate arrives as Commandant  \n1830  \nExiles Club erected in Georgetown as a Marine Barracks  \n1843  \nCornerstone of St Mary’s Church laid  \n1964  \nColonial Office takes control of the Island and appoints Ascension’s first Administrator  \n2002  \nFirst Ascension Island Council elected  \n1922  \nAdministration of the Island passes from the Admiralty to the Eastern Telegraph Company  \nDiscovery  \nPortuguese explorers came across Ascension Island in 1501 and again in 1503 while sailing from Lisbon to India.  \nThey did not come ashore, seeing nothing on the Island that was ofany use to them, and sailed on. A further Portuguese fleet returned some time later to put goats ashore. Ascension remained uninhabited until the arrival of the British in October 1815, when a garrison was established by the Royal Navy to prevent the escape of Napoleon from the island of St Helena, 700 miles to the south east.  \nSettlement  \nAscension has been permanently inhabited since the Union flag was raised and the Island claimed for His Britannic Majesty King George III on 22 October 1815.  \nWithin days of British occupation construction started on a settlement in the area between the Turtle Ponds, the AIG Stores and the swimming pool in Georgetown, known then as Regent Square. The settlement did not become known as Georgetown until April 1829. The Island remained under military control until October 1922, when it became a colonial dependency. Today Ascension Island has a temporary population of approximately 800 people, including a MOD and a USAF base, as well as a small civilian population. Ascension continues to have great strategic importance and a key role to play as a staging post for British interests-both military and diplomatic-in the South Atlantic.  \nFood & Water Conflict  \nThe most urgent task for the men who first came ashore in 1815 was to find fresh water.  \nFrom 1815 to 1830, avery limited supply of water was available from springs or drips at Dampier’s Drip, Breakneck Valley and Middleton’s Ridge. Until 1830 water was transported to the settlement in Georgetown in barrels. Captain Bate was keen to secure a more reliable water supply and engaged visiting engineer Captain Brandreth to devise a planto transfer water from the mountain using iron pipes, down through Dampiers Drip, to Georgetown.  \nIn the early days there was a very limited supply of fresh meat, so turtles were harvested for food. Around 1823, under Commandant Edward Nicholls, the mountain farm was established to supply fresh meat, milk and vegetables to the Island’s inhabitants. Additional food supplies were sent for twice a year and included such goods as bread,flour, cocoa, sugar, currants, preserved beef and pork, rice, dried peas and vinegar – plus significant quantities of rum and wine.  \nAscension Island has served as an important base during periods of conflict.  \nDuring WWI Ascension Island was used as a lookout for German warships attacking the cable station. In the 1940s the United States built an airfield on SouthWest Plain –today’s Wideawake Airfield. The US supplied soldiers and munitions through Ascension to support the war in North Africa. In 1982 Ascension’s location in the South Atlantic made it a crucial military staging post for the British in the Falklands War.  \nAscension Island Conservation Department/Tourist Office  \nTel (+247) [66359 |](66359 | Email conservat","cbCaibg0NTLCH8Vv","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibg0NTLCH8Vv","pdf",1744029,"English","# History\n## Discovery\n## Settlement\n## Food & Water Conflict\n## Ascension Island Conservation Department/Tourist Office\n## Ascension Island Heritage Society","[{\"question\":\"When was Ascension Island first discovered and by whom?\",\"answer\":\"Portuguese explorers discovered it in 1501 and again in 1503 while sailing from Lisbon to India.\"},{\"question\":\"How did British settlement begin in 1815?\",\"answer\":\"In October 1815 the British established a Royal Navy garrison to prevent Napoleon’s escape from St Helena, which led to construction in the Georgetown area soon after occupation.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the early challenges with food and water on the island?\",\"answer\":\"Fresh water was initially scarce from springs and drips, requiring barrel transport until a plan to use iron pipes was developed. With limited meat supplies, turtles were harvested for food until the mountain farm was established to provide meat, milk, and vegetables.\"}]","History - 1503 - Discovery - Settlement | PDF"]